Chain Reaction Cycles shipping to Canada

A week or two ago I was looking for information about chainreactioncycles.com shipping to Canada and didn't find anything here. I went ahead and made a purchase anyways and thought I'd report back my experience for the next person.

I ordered a 2012 Bell Sweep helmet. I know bike parts typically don't have customs charges but I wasn't sure where a helmet falls in here. My helmet cost just over $100 at CRC with free shipping. On top of the purchase price Canada Customs charged me the HST and an additional $8.50 in 'Handling Fees', and that's it. I was prepared for worse so I was quite pleased. The helmet arrived about 8 days after the order was made but the Easter weekend was in there so that may have caused a day or two delay over the usual.

And before anybody gives me grief about buying online, I was perfectly prepared to buy locally but couldn't find the size/colour combination I wanted nearby. If I was going to have to wait a week for it to be ordered in at the shop I may as well save myself $60 and the return trip and order it myself.

it's kind of hit or miss as far as the charges go. i had a string where i was charged nothing but recently i've had significant charges on my last 3 or 4 orders. they have excellent customer service, though.

yep chain reaction is the best by far. As mentioned charges are hit or miss with customs. I've got an order coming in this week so we'll see if I get dinged. The $8.50 fee used to be $5 but still reasonable.

Don't feel bad about your LBS as I always offer first crack to mine. If they are within reasonable pricing they get the sale, but they understand that if they can't compete and their hands are tied, then I will go online. Besides they get all my business when it comes to bikes and service and accessories.

A week or two ago I was looking for information about chainreactioncycles.com shipping to Canada and didn't find anything here. I went ahead and made a purchase anyways and thought I'd report back my experience for the next person.

I ordered a 2012 Bell Sweep helmet. I know bike parts typically don't have customs charges but I wasn't sure where a helmet falls in here. My helmet cost just over $100 at CRC with free shipping. On top of the purchase price Canada Customs charged me the HST and an additional $8.50 in 'Handling Fees', and that's it. I was prepared for worse so I was quite pleased. The helmet arrived about 8 days after the order was made but the Easter weekend was in there so that may have caused a day or two delay over the usual.

And before anybody gives me grief about buying online, I was perfectly prepared to buy locally but couldn't find the size/colour combination I wanted nearby. If I was going to have to wait a week for it to be ordered in at the shop I may as well save myself $60 and the return trip and order it myself.

So anyways, overall thumbs up to CRC and I will be ordering again.

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I got charged duty (in addition to HST) one time on something misidentified as something else.... I think they said a blinky was "maritime signalling equipment" or something.

It was a difference of 8 bucks or something, so I wasn't too motivated, but I filled out the appeal form and sent it in just to see what would happen. They ignored it, and I did not follow up.

On a related story, this week UPS tried to charge me $45 brokerage on a $15 HRM band that was being replaced under warranty for free. I told the UPS guy I didn't want it that bad. Man was that guy pissed... they must be getting shot down a lot these days on their fraud scheme.

On a related story, this week UPS tried to charge me $45 brokerage on a $15 HRM band that was being replaced under warranty for free. I told the UPS guy I didn't want it that bad. Man was that guy pissed... they must be getting shot down a lot these days on their fraud scheme.

UPS is a non-starter for me. If a company only ships UPS then we don't do business. I would imagine that would apply to many people here.

The brokerage fees are retarded. However I haven't wrote off the entire service. As long as you avoid UPS ground and go for the faster worldwide express services, you avoid brokerage fees all together. Usually the cost difference is fairly minimal in a lot of cases. I refuse to order UPS ground. When do you get the right service, their delivery dates and services are far more reliable than Canada Post.

Luck would be if Canada Post decided to leave it or hand it off to you without charging the HST + $8.50 flat handling charge,

Hope Hoops = fully assembled wheel set.

I also think I got lucky because they were in separate boxes but labeled as one shipment so I only got charged tax for one wheel,each wheel had it's own claimed value and I suppose they got the front wheel first which was cheaper.

I guess they couldn't charge me twice on the same shipment?Not really sure about that.

UPS is a non-starter for me. If a company only ships UPS then we don't do business. I would imagine that would apply to many people here.

Originally Posted by nspace

The brokerage fees are retarded. However I haven't wrote off the entire service. As long as you avoid UPS ground and go for the faster worldwide express services, you avoid brokerage fees all together. Usually the cost difference is fairly minimal in a lot of cases. I refuse to order UPS ground. When do you get the right service, their delivery dates and services are far more reliable than Canada Post.

Originally Posted by garage monster

Hate UPS so much.

When I use UPS, typically I get it sent to a place in the US near the border. Recently, I've been using the Ferry. $5/package, and I don't even need to cross the border.

The brokerage fees are retarded. However I haven't wrote off the entire service. As long as you avoid UPS ground and go for the faster worldwide express services, you avoid brokerage fees all together. Usually the cost difference is fairly minimal in a lot of cases. I refuse to order UPS ground. When do you get the right service, their delivery dates and services are far more reliable than Canada Post.

That's a fair point. Jenson offers the UPS Worldwide and that's okay. Most place just offer UPS Ground though, which is of course a recipe for disaster.